niime 百科

Encyclopedia of niime

Yearning for the One and Only – a creation only tamaki niime can bestow. In the second half of this episode of interviews we talked to each of 6 members of the “Weaving team”. This time Sae Nakao, Ikuo Murakami and Ryuta Fujimoto share their thoughts on creation.


Sae Nakao


—— Ms Nakao, you used to work in the architectural field?

Nakao

Originally, when I was a student, I studied architecture and worked for construction company for two years. I wanted to change up and try a creating in a different field, making something by hand with a wide range, I was looking for something like pottery and folk art, then I found tamaki niime and their style of Banshu-ori which has flourished as a traditional local industry for a long time and I applied.

—— What made you decide to join the company?

Nakao

The reason why I decided to join the company was that I could start working and “creating immediately”. While working I can see the consistent process from production to sales. When you are creating products and selling them in different places, you don’t realize the value of reaching our customers directly.

—— Did you try various online research in advance?

Nakao

I came here as an intern and experienced work here for about a week, during that time I learned a lot. Like that the shop was next door to the lab.

—— Did you want to “weave” from the beginning of your term at creation?

Nakao

When I first entered the company, I wanted to join the “Dye team”, but they Saed they were planning to expand in the future. I thought it was better to know what the next department was doing in order to create better things. So I decided to get assigned to “weaving” on the assumption that I would do “dyeing” eventually, however, I’m a part of the “Weave team” now.

—— You were addicted to “weaving”. (laugh)

Nakao

Totally. (laugh)

—— Are you enjoying yourself?

Nakao

Yes. It’s a core part of our creations. It means that we need to weave it before we sew.

—— Weaving by yourself is also the starting point of tamaki niime’s creations. What is the content of Ms Nakao’s work?

Nakao

With regard to color management of the stock, for example, if a red-colored works sold, it will decrease the stock we have, so we manage how much red-colored works should be created. I don’t think it’s a good idea to add 100 of the same things again if you lose 100, so I think it’s a difficult part, but color is an important factor in tamaki niime’s creations.

—— Even though it’s red, there are many variations.

Nakao

When choosing coloring, for example, we choose a sporty red today or chic red, depending on the impression.

—— Ms Nakao and Mr Ueda are in charge of selecting and arranging the colored threads used in “weaving” called “thread arrangement”. Do you feel that you’re entrusted with that?

Nakao

After the threads are lined up, the president confirms. The balance of the color scheme is checked from the perspective of the president who is also a third party so that similar colors do not line up. There are many cases where there are minor corrections.

—— I see.

Nakao

Well, it’s my decision to arrange red colored threads because there aren’t enough red works right now.

—— While checking sales, you consider the age group and conditions of the customer, and you also think about the variation of colored yarn.

Nakao

That’s right.

—— By the way, how long have you been with the company?

Nakao

It’s been about 8 months since this last summer.

—— In fact, it means that you have been creating since right after your arrival.

Nakao

Yes, I’m really involved in various jobs. Rather than nurturing people, they just have us do it, more and more. (laugh)

—— Like constant practice. (laugh)

Nakao

That kind of environment.

—— What about the yarn ordering business?

Nakao

It’s like adding colored threads that are needed for each occasion. I tell the “Dye team” that we want this kind of color.

—— Including outsourcing?

Nakao

Both.

—— Is it link to inventory management?

Nakao

That’s right. When it comes to color management.

—— Who is in charge of running the loom?

Nakao

I am in the Rapier loom and the Jacquard.

—— Now, please tell us about your future goals.

Nakao

What I want to do in the future is get more involved into design, watch it take form, and eventually I want to experience seeing it sell.

—— I see.

Nakao

Speaking more broadly, I would like to interact with people from the Banshu-ori production area, and talk with people while eating lunch. I also participated in some of the factory bus tours in other areas together with people from the production area. I can’t deny that I’m still tied up with my work, but I want to know more about the textile, the apparel industry and the production area. I want to learn more about society.

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Ikuo Murakami —— Mr Murakami, you went to a Tokyo art school.

Murakami

I was studying contemporary art under the guidance of a teacher who was also involved in the planning of exhibitions. There were also various teachers such as architecture and woodworking and prints. They were interesting because the cultural anthropology appealed to me in a way that did not simply deal with art. I also drew pictures. I can draw a pattern here so I am drawing again.

—— Were you interested in patterns as well?

Murakami

There was a teacher who was teaching decoration, so it was a big jump from there. Basically, I’m an art geek, so I’m interested in various genres, but I especially like patterns. In Tokyo, a fashion brand owner taught a class for the general public, so I also attended it. I had an eye on the textile production area.

—— Please tell us why you joined tamaki niime.

Murakami

When I was looking for a textile-related job, I found that this job posted on the online job site “Japan Job Department”. There was no requirement for background or experience, and the content of the recruitment content was little weird. So, I came and applied for the opening on the “weaving” site, so I hopped in immediately after an explanation. I hoped I could do the “weaving” as soon as possible. Also the atmosphere here. All the machines are here. I think I can do various things, right? I researched the contents of work at a general textile factory in advance, but the environment in which I can create the things I want to weave rather than making the requested ones is quite limited.

—— So you were looking for a place where you can take the initiative and complete creation in-house?

Murakami

That’s right. I didn’t have any experience. I came because I know nothing about looms. So, if I could get hired, I’d like to do it after joining.

—— As the person in charge, you are mainly creating fabric pattern data and making fabric samples.

Murakami

First, I make striped pattern in warps of fabric and make data. I make gradations, blocks or random for striped design for shawls and clothing. Since Ms Nakao and Mr Ueda choose the colors, I make woodcuts prior to that. I also make patterns for Jacquard. I draw by hand, complete with design software, compile the weaving data and then have it woven.

—— Those are the two main jobs.

Murakami

Creating data for fabric samples that can be woven on a Jacquard loom, preparing data for subcontractors… the rest is the same operation for the loom.

—— What do you think about creations unique to tamaki niime?

Murakami

Speaking about speed, after weaving, there is also a sewing department and a shop in the same building, so it’s naturally to finish quick and line them up in the store. As an example “Tamask”, I think that the production plan for autumn and winter are being reviewed everywhere, not only in our house, due to the coronavirus situation. Since we are doing the weaving ourselves, we can also rapidly change plans. As we also handle sales in our company, we could quickly switch to fabrics for masks. We have changed a lot.

—— First of all, the decision was made quickly.

Murakami

It is easy to move forward. E-commerce is currently growing, so there was an immediate reaction as to the kind of work needed. What kind of fabrics were good, how everything changes so fast, and we could discuss as to what was next? Shawls can be made quickly, but we are making them ourselves, where as normal production takes half a year in production planning, so instead of three months, we can finish in a week. It makes correcting the trajectory of creation much quicker.

—— I see. Now, please tell us about future plans.

Murakami

I came here without any experience in textile work, and fortunately they put me in an environment where I could quickly test fabric samples with Jacquard. We’ve been trying a lot of experiments to improve, but after seeing the effect of this pandemic, it’s no longer a minor change for us. As a whole, we are turning to the launch of new things in individual projects while the weight of sales on the Internet is increasing. We are discussing how to sell our previous works with what kind of attitude? We are also talking about how to produce and deliver as the “Weave team” in situations where we do not know the future, while trying to detect and challenge what is required at the present. Making Gauze has been postponed, but I feel the possibility of creating new works by making various samples in the process.

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Ryuta Fujimoto —— Mr Fujimoto, please tell us how you joined the company.

Fujimoto

After studying patterns for three years, I jumped into the fashion world. The first time I joined a textile trading company, I thought if I was in a position where I could see the whole of the industry from the center, and I could take various steps in any direction. I was entrusted as sales assistant and production management, but I often see people working with negative feelings without a bright hope for the industry of apparel. I wanted to create something and shift to that kind of field, so I was looking into various textile production areas and traditional crafts. I happened to find the recruitment page of tamaki niime that was posted on the net. The recruitment guideline was very interesting.

—— You knew about various aspects of the industry before you met tamaki niime, right?

Fujimoto

I went to see an event held at a department store in Ueno, Tokyo at that time. There were shawls lined up at the entrance door on the first floor when it opened, and the scene looked so shiny. When I touched the shawl, I thought what was that? There was a lot of excitement similar to the feeling I had when I was a teenager when I was feeling thrilled with my clothes. I called the company and came here to have an interview. I felt a very positive atmosphere, as if it was a shining light. It was in March three years ago that I joined the company.

—— What was your first responsibility?

Fujimoto

When I joined, I was mainly in “washing” and sometimes helped “weaving”. At that time, there were only 20 people including the Shop & Lab staff, and weaving was done by two people. After that, it became a three-person system, including myself. Now I am in charge of various things such as public relations, leaving the “weaving” to other staff.

—— Do you feel you are stuck wearing two pairs of shoes? (laugh)

Fujimoto

I feel like I have four feet. (laugh)

—— I have an impression of Mr Fujimoto that you can create your own work by looking at the entire thing.

Fujimoto

It would be nice to be able to do that. One of the good things about this company is you can follow your instincts. When you say you want to do something, they let you do it within reason. However, there is also the fact that you are responsible for your own, so I think that balances it out.

—— Do you leave much of the movement of the “Weave team” to Taniguchi and other staff?

Fujimoto

When it comes to on-site movements, it’s been out of my hands for the past month or so, but I’ve been helping here and there.

—— You are in the role of a helper.

Fujimoto

I was told that even if I’m not physically on the team, leave my mind. Also there is a lot of things that I’ve been going through that I haven’t entrusted with the other staff, and I’d like them to work on in the future. I think that I have to keep an eye on it. I’ve been full of turns and twists since I joined the company and was in a position to watch production. I don’t know if it is because I left the team, however, I think that it is good that they are able to think firmly on their own. It’ll take more time for them to make decisions confidently, so I’ll take a role to help them. I think it would be nice.

—— You back off but you’ll support them.

Fujimoto

I think it was good timing when I joined the company. Only three people, including myself, were weaving, and I don’t know what the other two were saying. I thought what was that? I looked up about “weaving” like an amateur. But we were able to divide the roles like a triangle. As the number of staff increased, there was more to tell, and we couldn’t move quickly. But now that there are many people, I think that there are more chances to learn and get information. So if that works well, and of course there are many people who can do it I think we can do more interesting things. I think it’s a transitional period right now, or a period like a preparatory stage to get there.

—— What will happen in the future?

Fujimoto

Now that there are twice as many people as when I joined, I think there should be a lot of time to work on each specialized task. Still, we are in a situation where we don’t have enough time. Even so, I think that we are having something new to challenge, or maybe the method is inefficient. If we are trying something new, I think that’s fine. I think that each of us is digging into a specialized field, yet we don’t have enough experience and understanding, but I think we can improve on that. I think that through “weaving” we will be able to increase the number of challenges that we have never created before. Regardless of success or failure.

—— I think you’ll have more trials and errors and more aggressive challenges.

Fujimoto

Yes. I think that part will expand.

—— Now I’m not talking about the “Weave team,” but what about public relations?

Fujimoto

In the current coronavirus situation, globally, I see it as a great opportunity for the company. I think there was probably no such focus on creating in recent years. The general public also recognizes that masks have attracted attention and mass production is difficult in Japan, and there are many made in China, so if not, make them ourselves. People are more interested in the creators. In many production areas creators are firmly communicating through mask making. One of my roles in the company is how to convey the fact that making things is considered to be interesting in itself. I wish I could create a connection, not only masks but also in tamaki niime and Banshu-ori production areas. Even after the demand because of the situation, I would like people to come to our area, take a look at the place and Banshu-ori, and tamaki niime’s efforts. I mean the whole thing. In a sense, it’s also pressure that I can work with as part of a public relations window. But I think if I do what I can do now, great opportunities will come. It’s always our best to connect that opportunity to the next. Since I always think about various things, it appears in a dream. (laugh)

—— The input to Mr Fujimoto will be great both in terms of mass and as experience.

Fujimoto

I’ve been getting a lot of experience and the connections are expanding rapidly, so I’d like to improve so that I can make good use of it in delivering messages from the company from thin point forward.

—— I think that there are many things that will sprout from there in the future.

Fujimoto

So, even if you don’t have a particular need to do so, you might try to reach out to people you’ve been connected with by phone or email. In that case, you’ll be asked to say something. If you say that, it’s easy to talk about the future. Depending on your thinking, there are risks, but I think that those who have moved forward have greater returns.

Original Japanese text by Seiji Koshikawa.
English translation by Adam & Michiko Whipple.